Alicia Machado is opening up about her five year struggle with anorexia and bulimia after being publicly mocked by Donald Trump for gaining 15 pounds in the new issue of Women's Health.

In a first-person essay for the magazine, Machado writes that she never had any issues with food or her weight until Trump made her into a spectacle after she won the title of Miss Universe, and invited the press to watch her workout.

She writes that after many years of therapy and support she finally learned to accept her body again, and that her 2005 spread for Playboy was a big help.

'Playboy put me on the cover and I thought it was very nice; I felt beautiful and sexy,' writes Machado.

'So, I decided to send that magazine to Mr. Trump to show him that he had not broken me. I signed it, "This is for you. This is your Miss Piggy. This is your Miss Housekeeping."

'It felt good to do that.'

Scroll down for video

Recovery: Alicia Machado has written a first-person essay about her five year battle with anorexia and bulimia after she was shamed by Donald Trump (above in 1997) about her weight

Healing process: Machado writes that posing for Playboy (above) played a large role in her recovery

Machado also writes that she never thought about having plastic surgery growing up, and that she was a very thin size 0 when she won the title of Miss Universe in 1996 while representing Venezuela.

Her weight gain came in the year after she won because of all the travelling involved with her new job explains Machado, which led to less sleep and had her sampling foods from around the world.

But even after putting on 15 pounds she was still only a size 6, well below the average size for most woman.

That was too much weight for Trump however, who ordered her to workout, and had camera crews come film her.

Share this article

'I don’t know why he did it; maybe it was a publicity stunt. But I do know a lot of women have complained about how he treats them,' writes Machado, who was just 18 at the time.

'It was a terrible blow to my self-esteem because his comments were so public and it felt like everyone was pointing fingers at me. I’d never faced anything like that before.

'I didn’t feel like it was fair for him to call me those names because of 15 pounds.'

Machado writes that now she wants women to lead 'happy and healthy lives' and now have to deal with the 'bullying' like she had to deal with from Trump.

That is why she is supporting Hillary Clinton.

'I believe in her plan for the future of this country,' writes Machado.

'This beautiful country is now my home, and with Hillary as president these women can get the help they need to succeed and be healthy and happy.'

With her: Machado also talk about why she is supporting Hillary Clinton, writing: ''I believe in her plan for the future of this country' (pair above last week in Florida)

In an interview with Today back in September, Machado recounted how Trump called her names like 'Miss Piggy,' 'Miss Housekeeping,' and 'Miss Eating Machine' after she won her title before going on to claim that he also made racist comments about black people.

Machado claimed that Trump used racial slurs that were so offensive when speaking about black people that she would not repeat them during the interview.

'I listened to a few comments from him when he was my boss, but I don't want to talk about it because it's too much rude for the black community, and I respect a lot of things,' said Machado in a clip from her interview.

When NBC host Natalie Morales then asked if those comments were about both Latinos and African-Americans, Machado replied: 'Yes. He don't like that people either. He's trying to make up distractions and now he's in the churches. He's ridiculous.'

She also revealed in that interview that she had no idea that Clinton would be sharing her story during the first presidential debate, and that it was a big 'surprise' to her despite participating in an ad for the Democratic nominee for president earlier this year.

Machado is not being paid or compensated in any way by the Clinton campaign she told Morales.

During that debate Clinton spoke about some of the negative things Trump has said about women in the past, as well as his love of beauty pageants.

'And one of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty contest - he loves beauty contests, supporting them, and hanging around them,' said Clinton.

'And he called this woman "Miss Piggy." Then he called her "Miss Housekeeping," because she was Latina.'

Trump then began interrupting Clinton, asking 'Where did you find her? Where did you find her?'

Clinton continued, saying: 'And she has a name, Alicia Machado, and she has become a U.S. citizen .

'And you can bet she's going to vote this November.'

Machado responded by writing on Twitter in her native Spanish soon after the debate: 'Thank you, Mrs. Clinton. Your respect for women and our differences make you great! I'm with you!'